Built of Hallowell granite, the center section of the Maine State House was designed by Charles Bulfinch. Rising upon a knoll above the surrounding city, the four-story building has a 300 foot front with a colonnaded portico in the center, and two 75 foot wings facing east. The cornerstone was laid in 1829, and the structure was completed three years later. In 1911, it was enlarged according to designs by G. Henri Desmond. The demolition of almost all of the old building, saving the front and rear walls, was necessary. The grounds were graded, additions made to the wings, and a new dome of higher proportion replaced the former one. This was surmounted by a statute, the draped female figure of Widsom, designed by W. Clark Noble of Gardiner, and made of copper plated with gold.